1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to arrangements effectuating a passageway connection between the driver's cab of a vehicle and a sleeper unit located therebehind. More particularly, the present invention is related to such arrangements in so-called "cab-over" truck tractors of the type used in conjunction with a towable trailer rig for hauling freight, a sleeper unit being mounted to the trailer frame behind the driver's cab.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the environment of pickup truck mounted camper units of the type wherein a camper body (including a sleeping compartment) is mounted so as to rest on the bed of the truck and having a pan-handle portion which overlies the roof of the driver's cab, it is known to provide a passageway connection between the driver's cab and the body of the camper. For the purpose of preventing dust or water from entering the driver's cab or camper as well as to prevent the loss of heating or air conditioning, it has been known to provide a boot in the form of a sleeve of a flexible material, which may or may not include an insulation material, for forming a passageway connection between an opening in a rear wall of the driver's cab and an opening in an oppositely facing wall of the camper unit. Examples of such arrangements can be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,093,301; 3,900,224; 3,638,991; and 3,586,119.
It has also been known to provide sleeper units on truck tractors of the type used with a tractor-trailor rig for long distance hauling of freight More particularly, it has been known to permanently and rigidly install a sleeper unit to the frame of such trucks behind the driver's cab and to provide a walk through opening directly between the rear of the driver's cab and the front of the sleeper unit, again a boot of flexible material being utilized to interconnect the camper opening with the driver's cab opening. Such units have been manufactured, for example, by Double Eagle Industries, Inc., Shipshewana, Ind. for conventional hood engine access trucks.
In recent years, the so-called "cab-over" truck design has come into preeminence. In such trucks, the engine is mounted beneath the driver's cab and access thereto is not via an access opening, but rather is by an upward swinging of the driver's cab so as to provide access to the engine therebelow. In such units some rocking of the driver's cab relative to the frame of the tractor unit occurs during driving under normal road conditions. On the other hand, in equipping such a tractor with an independent sleeper unit, the sleeper unit is rigidly fixed to the tractor frame behind the driver's cab with sufficient clearance to enable upward swinging of the driver's cab. As a result, if a passageway connection is to be provided between the sleeper unit and the driver's cab, it must be easily and quickly detachable from the driver's cab to enable movement thereof and it must also be able to withstand the usual stresses which will occur due to relative movements between the independently mounted driver's cab and sleeper unit without becoming detached or becoming damaged. Still further, truckers take great pride in their units and therefore frequently wash same in specially designed truck car washing units designed for this purpose. Such washing units apply water at very high pressures (over 700 psi) to the truck and thus any passageway connection that is provided must be able to effectively seal out the water in a positive manner under such pressures, especially since the passageway connection is exposed at top and both sides in the noted space that must be left between the driver's cab and sleeper unit.